The “Gong Show” would have to be on the Top Ten list of “It’s So Bad, It’s Great” TV shows for sure. I did not watch it much but it was the ’70s equivalent of shows like “America’s Got Talent” or even “Idol” as the people with absolutely no talent came on the show thinking they were the next greatest thing. None of them were if I recall. Oddly enough, the “Gong Show” came on in the summer of 1976 as a daily show (thus potentially having enough for said marathon). We had to be smoking dope to watch shows like that.
So, it’s time (pun intended) to bring back some classic Guess Who. I love “No Time” and even dig its original version which you rarely hear on radio these days. I am a particular fan of the Guess Who while Randy Bachman was their guitarist/writer. When he left to form BTO, the Guess Who slid off my radar, and apparently most other folks too.
Original version
httpvh://youtu.be/oqeSUAlI5uI
And the second, more popular version
httpvh://youtu.be/NPX48NpSRvo
Which of the modern shows would even try and put someone like the popsicle twins on the air?
I don’t recall that act… I rarely tuned in to the show as it was on daytime TV and I was either in class or asleep. I DID manage to watch “Days of Our Lives” for a while my senior year at ISU. Mostly I was watching my illegal hook-up to HBO back then.
🙂
Gong Show!! 😀 Outstanding!! I still think Plan 9 should have had a shot on it, even if they blew up completely back stage before actually making it on air.
I had all the Guess Who original vinyl. They didn’t do enough, and they sure as hell cranked out several outstanding tunes. The whole No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature was virtually an anthem for me for several years. Made it onto quite a number of custom-mix playlists, very often with The Outlaw’s Green Grass and High Tides plus assorted Allman Brothers, Joe Walsh & Ten Years After.
I did not ever see them live when Bachman was still with them. However, I did catch them three different times in the Philly area in the early 1980s when they opened for a re-vamped Steppenwolf. Actually bootleg recorded one of their shows using one of the original Toshiba walkmans. Considering all factors, wasn’t a bad bootleg, even if it was near total ass by any audiophile standards. Lost bit of history now. I keep watching to see if it ever turns up digitized online somewhere. I know I passed out at least 20 copies at the time.
Funny thing about that show: I got busted entering the venue for a bowl and a baggie of Extra Kind in my shoe. The security pulled ’em out and said “These yours?” I said “Never seen ’em before.” and he stuffed them in his pocket & waived me through. With a walkman and five spare cassette tapes tucked under my belt on my back. But, I was already well-medicated and the show was a storm of great ‘oldies’ plus a sprinkle of new. Was still a bit extra crispy around the edges from a Jerry Garcia Band show the night before, so it all came together memorably.
Nice. Throw off security with a small stash so they miss the recorder. Good ploy. I use to tape my 35mm camera to one leg and the telephoto lens to the other and wear flare pants. Never got busted. Have some good shots of Jefferson Starship, Journey, Moody Blues and Kenny Rogers that way.
Yes, yes, Kenny Rogers. Start the jokes… now. 😛
Sheiss! Botched the email addy. Of course that was really me. 😉
Nice strip, Byron. Thanks!
The Master of the Universe has corrected your errant email in the previous post… you are once again you.
🙂
As I understand it, The Gong Show was an endless parade of William Hung(s). Sooo scary!
Single panel looks good. So does the previous multi-panel. You’re off to a good start for the year!
Most of the contestants were simply jokes and put on because they were bad. From what I’ve read, the original concept was along American Idol where the season winner would get to perform at a club or something, but that idea was quickly lost apparently.
I’m digging the software upgrade of Manga Studio and I’m doing all of my work in one package now. I use to color and do background effects in PhotoShop, but for most of my work, that won’t be necessary now. So, hopefully as I get use to the new software, I’ll speed up my workflow.
When your original scroll-forever ’12 Days of…’ post went missing (with all its comments, waah! – is there any way you can recover those?), I found myself back at the beginning where Older Bud is explaining his chequered past to his daughter. The evolution of your style…and not only your style, but your overall talent as a comix artist…is absolutely fascinating. Like watching a would-be guitarist clumsily practising chords, and then playing chords a little more smoothly, and then plating chords effortlessly, and then suddenly KA-BLAM! THE NEXT STEVE VAI! It’s been a delight to watch – and for the record, you always had an exceptional eye for rendering fingers and tits, even in the early days 😀
My fingers and tits skills have improved but I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of drawing them both… there’s a joke in there somewhere, but I’ll leave that to everyone’s imagination…
The original post is still there, just the comic was edited. Find it here:
https://1977thecomic.com/1977-comics/12-days-of-christmas-1977-style/
😛
Ah, thx for the link! Also, ‘fingers and tits skills’ sounds like a grfeat thing to be able to put on one’s CV…
I was born in 1977, so I don’t remember it except as reruns throughout the 80’s.
I do know of ONE act that went on the Gong Show and DID become the next greatest thing: The Mystic Nights of the Oingo Boingo, later simply shortened to Oingo Boingo. The leader of that band of course being the incredible Danny Elfman. 🙂
Born in 1977, eh? So, did your Mom ever hang out in bars around Lombard, Illinois? If so…
😛
Really? I never knew that about Elfman. Thanks!
technically tho, richard elfman (danny’s brother) was the leader of the “band” at the time (which was really more of a performance art troupe that was disguised as a band). when richard left it to pursue other interests (such as film), danny took over and it eventually became just “oingo boingo”, more focused on music and less on performance art.
the judges for their episode of the Gong Show were Bill Bixby, Buddy Hackett and Shari Lewis. they didn’t get gonged, and they won the money ($516.32)! so maybe a few acts did go on to become popular somehow… i wonder if there’s a list somewhere.
richard elfman’s film, “forbidden zone”, became a cult film. and was pretty brilliant for what it was: bizarre. 😀 the mystic knights appeared in that film as well, with danny playing Satan of all people. that sequence is up on the youtubes i believe, and is pretty damned amazing (probably the highlight of the movie)…
Byron, like you I didn’t catch the Gong Show much during its original run – too busy trying to conquer the rock n roll world, placate the Gods of Party On Hard, chasing nookie, & trying to keep myself in beer money. But in the early-to-mid 80’s I caught the re-runs pretty regularly. I thought the show was a scream – mostly because of its zany revolving cast of judges, barely controlled mayhem & unscripted “impromptu-ness”…
As for the Guess Who, from early ’69 til the end of ’70, one of the best rock bands playing imo. I didn,t get to see them until about ’73 or so, on a tour with (if I remember fuzzily) 3 Dog Night. I do remember being extremely disapointed with them as they just were not very good. By then they’d already gone thru several personell changes & technically the only original was drummer Gary Peterson with Burton Cummings on vocals (even tho Cummings is mostly identified with The Guess Who, he wasn’t their original vocalist..), but without originals Bachman & bassist Jim Kale, they had none of their punch & certainly didn’t sound like the “No Time” era band. Thankfully, I didn’t have too long to wait until Randy resurfaced with Brave Belt & then BTO!
Nookie… [snickers to myself]. We had some great terms. My favorite was “suck face”. Ah, to be young again…
Yeah, after Randy split, the Guess Who went downhill big-time. I’m glad I’m not the only one who remembers Brave Belt. 1st album with original Guess Who singer Chad Allen was okay, but the second one added CF to the line-up and they started to become BTO. Now, BTO was my concert addiction and they peaked at the right time for me (’74 to ’76) and I saw them way too many times. Several of them more than a tad drunk. I saw BTO in every decade they performed: ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and finally in the ’00s. Had a great “pen-pal” email exchanges with Fred, being a bass player we got along just fine.
BTO will be played at my funeral… 🙂
i remember that the Gong Show was so popular, that they even did a “Gong Show Movie”… The Unknown Comic was the rage for a bit, too!
I hardly remember that movie… now I gotta go Google that…
Speaking of Randy Bachman…. he has a radio show on CBC Radio called Vinyl Tap that is pretty awesome. He plays music and tells lots of stories about being on the road… and I just happen to have a link for you!
http://www.cbc.ca/vinyltap/
You know, I’ve tried a couple times to listen to that show and for some odd reason it never works for me… and I’m fairly technical for an old fart too.
I shall give it another try.